In Haiti, HALF of the population does not have access to an improved water source, and almost 70% of the population does not even have direct access to potable water.
Due to the conditions in Haiti, women and children are often forced to spend their entire day gathering water from miles away for their families. If that is not an option, people are left to consume unsafe water, which is filled with infectious waterborne diseases, and if neither of those are options, they end up suffering from fatal dehydration after 3 to 5 days.
In Haiti, these issues have led to higher mortality rates due to waterborne illness and dehydration and has caused the lives of women and children to revolve around gathering water, which deprives them of an education.
But we want to change this reality and we believe this change all starts with water.
Our model focuses on more than just supplying clean water to those in need; we want to address the issue, provide the right solution, and educate community members to properly maintain the solution as well as how to start a clean water business from their education.
Beyond our mission, our model is unique because it offers 3 different sustainable water solutions as opposed to only one. Depending on the needs of the community, we want to assess the conditions and then decide on the needed solution.
Our 3 solutions for our project in La Montagne are: providing water filters, restoring broken water pumps, and supplying donkeys.
These three solutions touch upon different causes of the water crisis in Haiti, which is what we believe will help us truly accommodate the needs of the village.
Our holistic approach is unique to our field; it allows us to collaborate with other organizations to find and implement the best solution that is specific to the needs of the community.
This past week we were able to meet with our water committee in La Montagne to discuss and evaluate our progress. These dedicated men and women have volunteered to help find sustainable water solutions for their village. We are working with them to effectively integrate these solutions into their lives and to find economically viable ways to initiate a business surrounded by water.